EPA Lead Program Grant Fact Sheet
EPA's Targeted Lead Grants
EPA's Targeted Lead Grant Program funds projects in areas with high incidences of children with elevated blood-lead levels in vulnerable populations. In 2007 the Agency awarded more than $5.2 million in grants under this ambitious program. These targeted grants are intended to address immediate needs of the communities in which they are awarded, and will also highlight lead poison prevention strategies that can be used in similar communities across the country.
EPA's lead program is playing a major role in meeting the federal goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning as a major public health concern by 2010, and the projects supported by these grant funds are an important part of this ongoing effort. According to the Centers for Disease Control in 1978 there were 13.5 million children in the US with elevated blood lead levels. By 2002, that number had dropped to 310,000.
South San Francisco, California - Safe Home Lead Hazard Control Project
EPA has selected the City of South San Francisco Fire Department in South San Francisco, California, for a Targeted Lead Grant.
The South San Francisco Fire Department plans to use EPA grant funding to increase public awareness of the health hazards of lead-based paint and applicable requirements on lead-based paint among residents and businesses.
EPA's grant funds would be used to:
- Educate residents on lead hazard control measures,
- Create lead hazard information sites in the City,
- Distribute lead test kits and lead hazard information to child care providers,
- Perform 400 residential lead risk assessments,
- Conduct lead-safe painting and renovation workshops for residents,
- Certify 50 homes as lead free or lead safe, and
- Incorporate lead hazard data in the City's database.
For more information about EPA's Lead Program, visit www.epa.gov/lead or call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD.